How to: Create a Bootable Windows 7 USB Drive
Apparently this tool has been pulled from the Microsoft site after it was reported that it contained GPL licensed code. Read more But if you still need to create a USB boot disk from Windows you can do it via this method or with linux via this method.
A few weeks ago I gave a step by step guide on how to create a bootable USB drive containing the Windows 7 media from a Linux system. Here is how to do the same thing but this time in Windows with a handy tool from Mircosoft.
Installation
To install the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool:
- Click here to download the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool installation file.
- When you are prompted to either save the file to disk or run it, choose Run.
- Follow the steps in the setup dialogs. You’ll have the option to specify where to install the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool and whether to create shortcuts on your Start Menu or Windows Desktop.
You need to be an administrator on the computer you are installing the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool on. The tool requires the Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0 or higher. If this is not already installed on your computer, the installation program will install it for you. In this case, you may have to reboot your machine to complete installation.
System Requirements
- Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit)
- Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is recommended)
- 50MB of free space on your hard drive
- DVD-R drive or 4GB removable USB flash drive
Using the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool
Before you run the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool, make sure that you have already purchased Windows 7 ISO download from Microsoft Store and have downloaded the Windows 7 ISO file to your hard drive. If you have purchased Windows 7 but have not yet downloaded the ISO file, you can download the file from your Microsoft Store Account.
To make a copy of your Windows 7 ISO file:
- Click the Windows Start button, and click Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool in the All Programs list to open the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool.
- In the Source File box, type the name and path of your Windows 7 ISO file, or click Browse and select the file in the Open dialog box.
- Select USB to create a copy on a USB flash drive or DVD to create a copy on a DVD disk, then click Next.
- If you are copying the file to a USB flash drive, select your USB device in the dropdown list and click Begin copying. If you are copying the file up to a DVD, click Begin burning.
When your Windows 7 ISO file is copied onto your chosen media, you can install Windows 7 by navigating to the root of your DVD or USB flash drive and double-clicking Setup.exe.
